Kamloops Real Estate Blog

Paul Lake and Pinantan Lake, Kamloops, B.C. Real Estate

February 1, 2009 Kirsten Mason Kamloops Neighbourhoods, Surrounding Communities

For Pinantan and Paul Lake listings click here.

Paul and Pinantan Lakes are beautiful lakes just outside of the Kamloops city. Paul Lake is 20 minutes (roughly 21 kilometers) north east of Kamloops and Pinantan is 25 minutes north east (26 Kilometers), just past Paul Lake.

Paul Lake is 390 hectares in area with a mean depth of 28.9 meters and max depth of 55.2 meters. There is a provincial campground which attracts a number of visitors in the warmer months. Situated at the provincial park and campground visitors can access a public boat launch. Paul Lake does allow power boats, wake boarding and water skiing. At Paul Lake you can also enjoy canoeing, swimming, fishing (rainbow trout average 3.5lbs), cycling and hiking to name a few activities.

Many properties border the lake. The Kamloops Indian Band leases properties for 25 year terms. There are often properties for sale on Paul Lake with water frontage. The annual lease rates range between $3,500 to $5,500 per year. There are a select few properties which are freehold land titles on Paul Lake. These properties tend to be more expensive than the leasehold properties.

Deerwood at Paul Lake is a freehold strata development with a number of townhomes. Deerwood has breathtaking views, beautifully kept lands, docks, in-ground pool, workshop, tennis and unlimited RV parking. Click here to find Paul Lake real estate listings.

Pinantan Lake, named this because it means ‘shoe’ or ‘moccasin’ in traditional Aboriginal language. This name given because of it’s shape is much like a moccasin. Pinantan has a general store, a resort, an elementary school, and about 500 residents. The lake itself is two parts, Big Pinantan and Little Pinantan. The lake itself is 68 hectares in size, with a mean depth of 10.6 meters and max. 18.5 meters. Unlike Paul Lake, Pinantan properties are freehold properties not leased land. There are a number of boat launches at Pinantan Lake. Only electric powered boats are allowed on the lake. Fishing (rainbow trout average 1 lb) and swimming are permitted in Pinantan lake. There are also hiking trails and other outdoor activities in and around the area to enjoy year round.

There are a number of homes in the Pinantan, some are used only as summer cabins and other homes are year round residences. There are a number of MLS listings in and around Pinantan Lake. For more information on Pinantan properties click here.

Paul Lake and Pinantan Lake both begin to ice over in November and thaw around mid April. Paul Lake has an elevation of 796 metres and Pinantan 878 metres. Both lakes offer the opportunity to live rurally with convenience of a short commute to the city of Kamloops.

To read more about other neighbourhoods click the link below:

Aberdeen Barnhartvale Batchelor Heights

Brocklehurst Campbell Creek Dallas

Deloro/South Thompson Valley Cherry Creek Dufferin/Southgate

Heffley Knutsford Juniper Heights

North Kamloops Paul Lake/Pinantan Lake Pineview

Pritchard Rayleigh Sahali

South Kamloops/Downtown Sun Rivers Sun Peaks/Whitecroft

Valleyview/Rose Hill Westmount Westsyde

Surrounding Communities

Barriere Mclure/Vinsula Savona/Tobiano

Community Profile: Logan Lake B.C. Real Estate

January 27, 2009 Kirsten Mason Surrounding Communities

For up to date Logan Lake and surrounding area homes for sale click here.

The district of Logan Lake is located in the Highland Valley between the City of Kamloops, the city of Merrit and the village of Ashcroft. Logan lake originally was a mining town set up in the early 1970’s. It was set up to support the expanding copper mine development, Highland Valley Copper, located 15 kilometres west. Logan Lake developed into more than just a mining town over the following decades and became a beautiful rural community boasting a population of over 2300. Mining is still the main industry in Logan Lake. Highland Copper has the largest open pit copper mine on the North American continent.

There are numerous outdoor activities to do in Logan Lake such as: cross country skiing, fishing, golfing, hiking, snowmobiling, horseback riding, ATV riding, dirt biking and pond hockey. With over 30 lakes in the immediate area Logan Lake is know for amazing fishing including Lac le Jeune with it’s famous fighting rainbow trout.

Golfing is a popular activity, Meadow Creek Golf Club just east of Logan Lake located in the lush pine and aspen forest is a nine hole course (3,124 yards, par 36). The golf course is within walking distance of downtown.

Logan lake also has a recreation centre with an ice rink, curling rink and weight room. There are also other seasonal sports fields such as ball diamonds, soccer fields, tennis courts and a swimming pool. This is also an elementary and high school located within the city centre, completing this family orientated community.

There are a variety of residential properties for your choosing in Logan Lake. Single family homes, townhouses, apartment units, duplexes and 1/2 duplex homes, farm properties, acreages, and mobile/modular homes.

This area has a home available for every budget. The Kamloops Real Estate Board is reporting that there are 46 listings currently on the market in Logan Lake. There are nine lots ranging in price from $45,000 to $295,000 and ranging in lot size from 0.18 acres (7840 Sq. Ft.) to 75 acres (3,267,000 Sq. Ft.). There are nine apartment listings ranging in price from $69,900 to $128,500, four modular homes ranging from $129,900 to $165,900 and townhouses $159,900 to $172,900. Finally, single family homes currently on the market; there are 21 single family homes on the market ranging from $169,o00 to $765,000. To view current MLS listings in Logan Lake and surrounding areas click here.

5th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey 2009

January 26, 2009 Kirsten Mason Kamloops Real Estate Statistics, National Real Estate News

The Demographia 5th Annual International Housing Affordability Survey for 2009 is out. It rates metropolitan markets for affordability of the housing in each market. Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States are all discussed.

The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey employs the “Median House Price to Median Household Income Multiple,” (“Median Multiple”) to rate housing affordability. The ratings are as follows 3.0 or Less is defined as “Affordable”, 3.1 to 4.0 “Moderately Unaffordable”, 4.1 to 5.0 “Seriously Unaffordable” and 5.1 and above “Severely Unaffordable”.

In recent decades, the Median Multiple has been remarkably similar among the nations surveyed, with median house prices being generally 3.0 or less times median household incomes. This historic affordability relationship continues in many housing markets of the United States and Canada. However, the Median Multiple has escalated sharply in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom and in some markets of Canada and the United States.

Over the past year, house prices have declined in most markets. This “bursting of the housing bubble” followed an unprecedented increase in housing prices in all markets except some areas in the United States and Canada. The result is that housing affordability has generally improved, though remains at Median Multiples well above the historic norm in many markets.

Vancouver came in at 8.4, Victora 7.4, Kelowna 6.8 and Abbotsford 6.5 to name a few. All the previously named markets are defined as “Severely Unaffordable”. The province of British Columbia was generally described as severely unaffordable based on the calculations employed in this survey. However, many of these severely unaffordable markets have experienced steep price declines in the last year. Among the major markets, Vancouver is the least affordable. The Kamloops market was not specifically cited in this survey, but as a part of the province of British Columbia one can draw the conclusion that we too are at least “seriously unaffordable”.

To read the entire PDF document from The Demographia Survey click HERE.

Lower & Upper Sahali, Kamloops, B.C. Real Estate

January 26, 2009 Kirsten Mason Kamloops Neighbourhoods

The area described as Sahali is on the south shore of the Thompson river. It is bordered by South Kamloops and the Downtown district (to the south), Southgate and Dufferin to the west and Aberdeen to the south west. Lower Sahali is the portion of Sahali that falls below the #1 highway and Upper Sahali is above the #1 with the Highway 5A being the dividing line between Sahali and Aberdeen. To view all homes and properties for sale in Sahali click here.

Properties & Real Estate

Lower Sahali is a very popular residential area with decent sized lots and beautiful views of the valley below. It is within minutes of downtown, schools, including TRU and the hospital. Many of the homes in this area are older with the exception of some areas. There are also a number of multi-family residential units within Lower Sahali such as townhouse complexes and apartment units. The Sahali area always has a variety of properties for your choosing if you are looking for a home.

Upper Sahali has much fewer businesses and is mainly residential. There are a number of different types of residential units in this area anything from apartments to townhouses to single family homes. There is a mix of newer and older homes throughout the Upper Sahali region.

In the Coach Hills and Albert McGowan Park area are a number of the homes are newer than the surrounding areas where the homes are often defined as “old type”. Homes in this area range from 1990’s to early 2000’s.

In the Sedona Pines area the homes range from late 1990’s to new with Mesa Estates on Azure Place housing the newest construction.

The lots in Upper Sahali are also a good size and often have beautiful views. There are some specific regions where homes are located on steep slopes leaving little yard. Retaining walls are often found in the Sahali region as it covers a large part of the south slope of the valley.

Home prices in the Sahali area tend to be more expensive than other residential areas of Kamloops. Being such a desirable place to live, home buyers are willing to pay a premium to live in Sahali.

Sahali features a number of townhouse and condo/apartment developments as well. They range in price and size to fit all home owners needs.

To view the available condos and apartments for sale in Sahali click here.

To view the available townhouses for sale in Sahali click here.

For up to date Kamloops real estate listings click here.

Schools

Beattie School of the Arts and Sa-Hali Secondary School are both located in Lower Sahali. St. Ann’s Academy, a private catholic school is on Columbia Street, also located in Lower Sahali. Lower Sahali is a great family neighbourhood close to numerous amenities.

There are a number of elementary schools in Upper Sahali including McGowan Park Elementary, the French immersion elementary school South Sahali Elementary and Summit Elementary.

Thompson Rivers University is located in Southgate. The campus is positioned at the intersection of Summit Drive and McGill Road. TRU is a fully accredited University and offers a variety of programs and courses to students in many different areas of study. Sahali is often a very popular area for University students to stay due to the close proximity to the University.

Shopping & Services

Lower Sahali houses a number of Kamloops grocery stores and shopping. Save-on-foods, Superstore, Safeway, Toys-R-Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, Winners and Homesense are a few of the major stores in the Sahali area. There are a number of restaurants and popular shopping destinations in this area as well.

There are a number of professional offices in the Sahali area. Sahali Centre Mall, Tudor Village and Sahali Professional Centre to name a few. You will find lawyers, doctors, mortgage specialists, banks, insurance brokers and much more in this area.

The uptown area of Kamloops which is defined within the borders of Sahali has everything that you could need on a day to day basis.

Recreation

At the top of Summit Drive, there is a very popular water park called Albert McGowan Park, which is a popular place for neighbourhood kids to cool off in the summer and toboggan in the winter.

Throughout Lower and Upper Sahali there are a number of parks and green spaces. The Sahali area has everything close at hand, shopping, entertainment, schools for all ages, and park land. This is why it is one of the most popular regions of Kamloops.

Peterson Creek Park runs through most of Sahali from top to bottom. This is a 423 hectare park that is a natural creek corridor. There are over 30 kilometers of trails in the park and many sites to enjoy including panoramic valley views and Bridal Veil Falls. There are numerous access points and the park is equipped with picnic tables and grassy areas to enjoy.

Tournament Capital Centre is located in Southgate which is only a five to 10 minute drive from any Sahali neighbourhood. TCC has many different facilities all in one building such as gymnastics, swimming, indoor track, fitness facility, courts and much more. There are also a number of sports fields that surround the facility.

Click here to see Kamloops parks on a map.

Transportation

Sahali is serviced by BC Transit buses on a frequent and regular schedule. Click here to view the BC Transit website. Highway #1 is easily accessible to Sahali as it runs through the middle of it splitting the area into upper and lower Sahali.

To view current listings for the Sahali area click here.